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| Record Creator: | Moore, John Vanlandingham |
| Title: | John Vanlandingham Moore Papers |
| Date Span: | 1964-2018 |
| Abstract: | John Vanlandingham Moore (1919-2019), American Minister, was born to Manning Sydney Moore and Winifred Elaine Buxton on September 6, 1919 in Pueblo, Colorado. More pastored both Baptist and Methodist churches for over forty-two years. The John Vanlandingham Moore papers contain perhaps the earliest serious rethinking on the issue of homosexuality for both church and society in a church pulpit which this case took place at Glide Memorial in 1965. |
| Extent: | 0.18 cubic feet |
| Resource ID: | drew.ms.2772 |
John Vanlandingham Moore (1919-2019), American Minister, was born to Manning Sydney Moore and Winifred Elaine Buxton on September 6, 1919 in Pueblo, Colorado. The Moore family also had three other children, Manning Jr., Louise Elaine, and Robert B. After graduating from Poly High School in 1937, John headed to Stanford where he received a B.A. degree in 1941. From there he headed to Upstate New York to attend Colgate Rochester Divinity School in order to prepare for the ordained ministry within the Baptist Church. Moore decided to spend his middler year at Berkeley Divinity School before returning to Colgate Rochester in order to finish his Masters of Divinity degree by the Spring of 1944. Upon graduation, the local church beckoned to Moore where he served as an associate pastor at the First Baptist Church, Sacramento, California, from 1944 to 1946. The next ministerial stop was the Himrod Avenue Baptist Church in Youngstown, Ohio. John spent almost two years in Youngstown until leaving on the last day of 1948.
At this point came a major career shift with Moore becoming a clergy member of the California-Nevada Annual Conference of the Methodist Church. Del Paso Heights Church in suburban Sacramento was his first appointment which lasted till July 1952. The bishop then appointed him to the Hayward Methodist Church until 1958. From Hayward, his next appointment came in the form of the Trinity Methodist Church, Chico. Moore stayed at Trinity until 1962 when he was moved to San Francisco to be the senior minister of Glide Memorial Methodist Church in which this collection reflects. By July1966, the bishop appointed Moore to the California Aggie Christian Association at the University of California Davis campus, where he served as campus minister until 1972. Moore’s star continued to shine within the California-Nevada Annual Conference when he was named the Bay View District Superintendent for one quadrennium. After spending all of his Methodist career in California, he was then appointed to the Reno First church located in Nevada from 1976 to December 30, 1980. Moore’s final appointment saw him back in California as pastor of First United Methodist Church in Sacramento from 1981 to 1986. After forty-two years of active ministry retirement beckoned and John settled into his new life by July 1, 1986. This, however, did not last long because the annual conference called on himtime and again to serve as the interim pastor for three charges, namely First United Methodist in Modest, Davis United Methodist and Merced United Methodist. John V. Moore died on July 27, 2019 at Harbor, Washington.
John Vanlandingham Moore preached a gospel that reached out to everyone within the communities he served. Moore’s papers reflect his honest, thoughtful viewpoints. These documents contain perhaps the earliest public rethinking on the issue of homosexuality in the Methodist church. This thought process is manifested in the form of three sermons preached at Glide Memorial United Methodist Church. The sermons get extensive coverage in a number of regional and national newspapers during the first half of 1965. A firestorm of strong opinions on both sides of the issue quickly ensued which a sample can be found here, especially in the correspondence and clipping files. The addresses and papers were created at least a decade later from the 1965 sermons which represent Moore’s evolving thinking on homosexuality for a larger discussion within The United Methodist Church. Barbara Moore's autobiography is included in the collection as well an invitation to celebrate Moore's 98.6 birthday.
Materials have been arranged in the following manner.
Material is arranged by record type.
When citing material from this collection please use the following format: Direct reference to the item or its file folder, John V. Moore Papers, Methodist Collection - Drew University, Madison, New Jersey. Do not make use of the item's call number as that is not a stable descriptor.
There are no restrictions regarding this collection. Copyright still owned by Drew. Permissions to publish must be directed to Drew.
Detailed use restrictions relating to our collections can be requested from the office of the archivist at the General Commission on Archives and History. Photocopying is handled by the staff and may be limited in certain instances. Before using any material for publication from this collection a formal request for permission to publish is expected and required.
Minutes and General Administrative Records of the General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church
Records of Affirmation: United Methodists for Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Concerns
Paul Abels Collection
Position Papers for the Committee to Study Homosexuality
Records of the General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns.
Records of the Council of Bishops
Records of the Women's Division of the General Board of Global Ministries
Records of the Kansas Episcopal Area
The Gay Way Publication
United Methodist Collection, Graduate Theological Union, Berkley, Calfornia.
| Call Number | Folder Title | Date(s) |
| 2144-4-3: 1 | Addresses and Papers | 1966-1986 |
| 2144-4-3: 2 | Correspondence | 1964-1965 |
| 2144-4-3: 3 | Sermons | 1965 |
| 2144-4-3: 4 | Denominational Work | 1973-1976 |
| 2144-4-3: 5 | Clippings | 1965 |
| 2144-4-3: 6 | A Strange Thing Happened on the Way to Church - The Life and Times of Barbara Moore | 2007 |
| 2144-4-3: 7 | Miscellany | 2018 |
